Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world as well as the world’s largest landlocked country; it has a territory greater than Western Europe. It has a population density of less than 6 people per square km (15 per sq mi). Since independence, Kazakhstan has pursued a balanced foreign policy and worked to develop its economy, especially its hydrocarbon industry. While the country’s economic outlook is improving, President Nazarbayev maintains repressive control over the country’s politics. Kazakhstan declared independence on December 16, 1991. It was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence.
Kazakhstan has no sodomy laws, the age of sexual consent is 18 for all. In 1991 that the first gay group in Kazakhstan was founded. Male homosexuality was then illegal, and the group was subject to violence and threats at the hands of the Ministry of the Interior. The group however successfully campaigned for the repeal of the law prohibiting male homosexuality and it is now legal.

Intro: There is very little reliable information about gay life in Kazakhstan on the internet, but here is one first-hand report from a former Peace Corps volunteer, Everett Peachey, that offers a small window into this huge former Soviet country. From: Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual US Peace Corps Alumni http://www.lgbrpcv.org/articles/02_04_russia.htm By Everett Peachey August 2009